Depending on the circumstances, it could be that the driver hit the cruise control stalk instead of the turn signal stalk.

eddiemoy | 25 Settembre 2013

cruise control doesn't do that, i've tried it on mine.

David70 | 25 Settembre 2013

What kind of a launch ramp did she use to get it to land on a 4.5 ft wall? I'm not convinced that a curb could do that. What was the distance from the start of acceleration to the curb?

hsadler | 25 Settembre 2013

Early in the ownership my wife was using cruise. She had to slow - using brakes - which disengages the Cruise. But after a minute, she went to change lanes - pushed up on the cruise control (thinkig turn signal) which caused it to resume. In this case it accelerated.
She thought there was a problem- called service - it was checked, but later we determined the cause. Wrong lever.

Jesse K | 25 Settembre 2013

I am pretty sure if wifey crashed my Model S because she got the go pedal confused with the stop pedal that she would claim "I don't know what happened, all of the sudden it was accelerating..."

dr.jacks.tesla | 25 Settembre 2013

That is probably complete bullshi... The wife f.. Up and blaming the car do she is not in trouble!

tes-s.ct.us | 25 Settembre 2013

Does the MS do data logging? That should be able to clear up the positions of the controls and what actually happened.

Thomas N. | 25 Settembre 2013

Hell yes it does data logging. I'm scared to death it will note my weight changes via the driver's seat sensor.....

Captain_Zap | 25 Settembre 2013

I read the complaint and it does not make sense to me. It says:

"THE CAR WAS GOING AT ABOUT 5 MPH GOING DOWN A SHORT RESIDENTIAL DRIVEWAY. BRAKE WAS CONSTANTLY APPLIED. THE CAR SUDDENLY ACCELERATED. IT HIT A CURB AND THE MIDDLE PORTION OF THE CAR LANDED ON A 4.5 FT HIGH VERTICAL RETAINING WALL." (Then there is more info after that, but it doesn't seem pertinent.)

The brake was constantly applied... Hmmm. Sounds like something else was applied instead of the brake.

redacted | 25 Settembre 2013

I want that extra 8%.

redders | 25 Settembre 2013

Capn Zap - there was definitely some more pertinent information at the end of the story, if not the complaint:

"The owner denies that his wife stepped all the way down on the pedal"

Aaaaah. So the person that you allowed to drive the car told you that they stepped on the accelerator, but not ALL THE WAY DOWN (!!!!!). Well there's no way that could possibly be driver error then. Glad that's settled.....

Captain_Zap | 25 Settembre 2013

Redders-

The way I read the complaint it was Tesla that said the accelerator was pressed, not the complaintant.

redders | 25 Settembre 2013

92% vs. 100%. Their complaint isn't UNINTENDED acceleration, despite what they filed. They are really complaining that it accelerated too quickly for them.

Welcome to Tesla, people.

Captain_Zap | 25 Settembre 2013

complaint, it
(sorry)

redders | 25 Settembre 2013

Capn Zap. I'm reading between the lines:

"The owner denies that his wife stepped all the way down on the pedal"

Either you deny that she stepped on the pedal or you deny that she stepped all the way down on the pedal. I bet he chose his words very carefully.

shop | 25 Settembre 2013

Sounds ludicrous. We are being trolled. The 4.5 foot wall is one foot from the curb and the curb caused the car to land on the wall?

Gizmotoy | 25 Settembre 2013

The accelerator has a built-in safeguard that maxes it out at 92%? But the Tesla engineer says it hit 100%? Am I missing something here? The way that's worded pretty much guarantees there was some sort of issue with the lady's car.

Or is the complaint that she stomped on it expecting to get 92%, but actually got 100%? If the latter, the complaint is hilarious. Yeah, lady, that extra 8% is why you ended up beached on a retaining wall.

jbunn | 25 Settembre 2013

Possibly the 4.5 foot wall could be a retaining wall with a drop off on the other side. Someone did something like this at the Tejon Ranch supercharger a couple months back. Hopped a curb, went over a retaining embankment and through a fence. Ooops. Wrong gear, then hit the wrong pedal.

Regarding the report though, it said "the records show that the pedal was depressed and the car, "accelerated from 18 percent to 100 percent in split second" ".

So the pedal was depressed. And the car can't "accelerate from 18 to 100%" in a split second. That would turn everyone in the car into hairy strawberry jam. I think what they meant is power went to full. Yeah... That's what the narrow pedal on the right does.

jbunn | 25 Settembre 2013

Gizmo, I read that to mean the pedal supplies 92% of the power the inverter and motor can handle, but the full travel of the pedal represents 100% of the power available to the driver. But that's just my guess.

riceuguy | 25 Settembre 2013

+1 Jesse!

Gizmotoy | 25 Settembre 2013

Interesting. I wonder who will be first to tinker with the software to unlock that "hidden" 8%...

fluxemag | 25 Settembre 2013

+1 JesseK

jeffsstuff | 25 Settembre 2013

I'm sure this will turn out to be nothing other than operator error. While I dislike the privacy implications of the massive amount of data being lcollected by the vehicle, in this case, it will vindicate the car and it's manufacturer.

redacted | 25 Settembre 2013

I'm still trying to get my mind around the concept of 100% acceleration. Or 92% acceleration, which seems somewhat like adulterated acceleration. I can see power applied to the motor (@jbunn) being 100% of the rated value of the motor. But 100% acceleration is like 100% speed. Huh?

I wonder if they had the P+ package? My traction control kicks in on my P85 at low speed because the tires can't even handle 92% acceleration. Which I'm pretty sure would be enough to land me on top of the retaining wall if I was dumb enough to aim for the curb.

Tâm | 25 Settembre 2013

Tesla may have understated its performance on the specifications. Such as 0-60mph, horse power, Maximum speed capped at 125mph, 130mph…

Thus, it is not a surprise that the acceleration was capped at 92% but in reality it shots to 100%.

When not pressing any pedal, the car would slow down to 1 or 0 mph. If it’s 5mph, then it could be because the accelerator speeded it up beyond 0 or 1 mph.
Constant braking should stop the car. However, the accelerator might have been pressed at the same time which overcame the brake and speeds the car at 5mph.

A panicky pressing harder to the accelerator would break the car free from the stopping power of the brakes and gave the owner the instant acceleration.

Currently, when both brake and accelerator are pressed together, the accelerator wins over the brakes every time. Try yourself!

Toyota fixed this problem by implementing “Brake Override” that allows the brakes win every single time.

However, there are owners who opposes “brake override” feature. I don’t know

mrrjm | 25 Settembre 2013

It's not a good idea to text and drive!

Gizmotoy | 25 Settembre 2013

Currently, when both brake and accelerator are pressed together, the accelerator wins over the brakes every time. Try yourself!
Do the brakes not have a mechanical linkage (brake-by-wire)? I thought mechanical brakes were still mandatory per federal law.

To my mind, if you've smashed both the brake and the accelerator, you are probably panic braking and actually want to slow down, not accelerate.

gooshjkc | 25 Settembre 2013

I'm sure Tesla will take this seriously as any manufacturer should, but it sounds like the driver mistook the brake for the accelerator. Most people will deny this, claiming they know the difference. However, it does happen more than people would like to admit. I even done it couple of times and one time I had to paid the price. Usually this happens when someone is not paying attention. Like texting, talking, looking at something and so on. At the last moment when a person realize what's going on, they react immediately without knowing what they're doing. This can mean pressing on the accelerator instead of the brake. It will take a while for the mind and the body to react to this. Trust me, that's enough time to get into an accident as this person did in the article. The person realizing what happen didn't want to admit it, so filed a complaint hoping to get his/her money back. Anyway, that's my thoughts.

Tâm | 25 Settembre 2013

@ Gizmotoy
Fly-by-wire is most if all for new cars.

Of course, when you apply brake, it should slow down to a stop, not constantly at 5mph.

If you applied slightly and it did not stop, and you wanted it stop, so your instinct was to apply the “brake” harder. But if you applied the “brake” harder, it accelerated to 100% then, it is questionable whether the real brake was applied or not!